Art Form: Theatre

Supplies Needed

Thank You, Omu!

Paper and pencil

Vocabulary

Playwriting - The art of crafting a dramatized story to
be performed by actors; the process of writing a play

Scene - A part of a play or story that happens in one
place for a continuous stretch of time

Dialogue - The lines and speeches spoken by the
characters in a story or play

Stage directions - Instructions in a script or play that
tell the actors what to do or how to act

Script - The written version of a play, scene, or
movie

Instructions

1. After reading the book, look at the page where everyone brings food to Omu.

2. Imagine the scene where everyone gets together, realizes they had eaten
all of her stew, and decides to bring her food. Choose several of the
characters from the illustrations to include in your scene.

3. Brainstorm what the characters might have said to one another when they realized they had eaten all of Omu’s rood and how they came to the resolution to work together to bring her food.

4. Write a script showing the dialogue and stage directions.

5. As you write, use playwriting format, putting the name of the character who speaks before each line, skipping lines between the different characters’ speeches, and enclosing the stage directions in parentheses.

6. Read the scene aloud, by yourself or with others, using different voices for the different characters.

Extensions

Find simple costume pieces or props around your home for each character, and use them to act out the scene.

Convert your scene into a short comic strip, like part of a graphic novel.